Latches have different packaging requirements for various applications such as lift gates, rear compartments, and decklids for example. Companies would like to promote new features of the latches used in their vehicles, such as improved sound quality and materials resistance for example. In addition to this desire to add new features, the space available for latch mechanisms continues to decrease. Because multiple latch mechanisms having various features exist for each type of vehicle, manufacturers would prefer a universal latch compatible with multiple vehicles. By standardizing the components of the latch, manufacturing and assembly costs will be reduced.
Accordingly, while existing vehicle latch mechanisms are suitable, the need for improvement remains, particularly in providing more compact and cost-effective latch mechanisms that may be used in multiple vehicles and can accommodate different features.